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Monday, 3 June 2013

Review: Phillip Bracken – The Opole Session

Phillip
Bracken – The Opole Session(Independent)

Australian singer-songwriter, Phillip Bracken’s debut
album was recorded live in the studio under quite extraordinary circumstances.
While in Poland – whether touring or just traveling, I’ve no idea – he met, by
chance, four Polish musicians, who he spent two days with, rehearsing his
songs, and recording the eight tracks on “The Opole Session”. For those for whom
geography is not a strong subject, Opole is a city in southern Poland, situated
on the Oder River.

Considering the unfamiliarity of the material to the
majority of the musicians, and the live setting in which it’s presented, the
results are incredibly cohesive, and not at all basic or lo-fi. Indeed, opening
track “It's Not Too Late / Ishmael” is
beautifully structured, building slowly and surely, with Bracken in fine voice,
and “The Storm” impresses with its European
gypsy jazz rhythms and the whole band providing energy and flow. “Les Moustiques” continues the trend, and it’s a
wonderful track. It’s almost certainly Bracken’s finest moment here, and the
musicians weave complex magic in support.

Thankfully, Bracken will be back in Europe to play
some shows later in 2013.